


fumble the chord but don't lose the beat

by Nuanta



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Tumblr Prompt, no seriously that's all there is to it, that is my tag for them and forevermore shall be so, trash heap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-03-07 00:25:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3153947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nuanta/pseuds/Nuanta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Tyler discovers that Jamie plays guitar and Jamie discovers that Tyler can actually sing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	fumble the chord but don't lose the beat

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a drabble prompt on tumblr from an anon: trash heap + I didn't know you could sing. 
> 
> Largely unedited because I just wanted to write it and be done with it so I could get back to my actual big project I'm working on (oops). I swear I didn't intend for it to turn out as corny as it did (another oops).
> 
> Set sometime near the beginning of last season.

* * *

Jamie always enjoys his nights to himself because it means he gets his “me” time. It wasn’t that living with his brother was particularly exerting or anything – quite the opposite, in fact, it was easy and comfortable living – but it was nice to decompress on his own from time to time.

Tonight, Jordie was out, and as such, tonight Jamie was pulling out his guitar. He hadn’t practiced in a while, mostly because he was too self-conscious to practice in front of people, and he’d been feeling pretty guilty about it.

He’s sitting on the sofa and has barely started playing anything – he’d taken his time tuning and checking his fingerings to make sure he still remembered his chords – when there’s a series of knocks on the door. He recognizes the pattern instantly, and he sighs as he gently deposits the guitar on the floor, leaning it against the side of the couch. “It’s open,” he calls.

Sure enough, Tyler flings the door open, kicks off his shoes, and steps right in, destroying any last hopes for privacy tonight that Jamie might have. In this moment, he kind of regrets giving Tyler a standing invitation to drop by whenever, but Tyler hasn’t been in Dallas very long and he felt it was the right thing to do at the time.

From the entrance, Tyler peers into the rest of the unit, grinning when he spots Jamie on the couch. “Hey, where’s the other Benn brother?” he asks as he swaggers over, chuckling to himself at his rhyme.

Jamie gestures vaguely. “He’s out tonight.”

Tyler surveys the living room, frowning slightly at the black TV screen. “So you decided to spend your evening sitting on the couch doing nothing? Weak, man.”

Jamie feels his cheeks grow hot and he ducks his head. “I wasn’t doing nothing,” he mumbles, glancing over briefly at his guitar. Another time, he thinks tiredly.

Tyler’s eyes flick over to where the instrument lies unused on the floor next to Jamie, and his eyes widen in recognition. “Dude, you play?” he exclaims.

Jamie shrugs. He can feel his cheeks burning and he refuses to look his teammate in the eye.

Tyler continues. “Were you playing before I got here? Why’d you stop?” He sounds genuinely upset, which is definitely not what Jamie wants to be hearing right now. He wishes he’d put the guitar away before letting Tyler in – heck, he wishes Tyler hadn’t chosen now of all times to come up for an evening visit.

“I’m not very good,” Jamie mutters, lamenting that it isn’t possible to sink further into the couch.

But Tyler simply plops down onto the carpet, sitting up eagerly, eyes open and bright. “Oh, come on!” he scoffs. “I’m sure you’re fine – besides, everyone starts somewhere! Come on, play something for me! I won’t judge, promise!”

“But I don’t –”

“Please?” he wheedles.

Jamie sighs heavily and reaches to pick up the guitar. “All right, fine, but don’t expect much.” He won’t admit it, as he’s placing the guitar back on his lap, but there’s a small part of him that feels almost validated that Tyler insists on hearing him play no matter his skill level. It’s kind of nice, but it’s mostly just nerve-wracking.

He starts off with a few simple chords, testing how well he can transition from one fingering to another. Slowly, he strums a few notes until he gets a better feel for it. He tries to forget that Tyler’s sitting on the floor in front of him, watching attentively, and focuses on the strings – tries not to think too much of the fingering and let it flow – and the gentle sounds they make. He lets himself float away in the sounds, and he transitions from random notes into the opening chords from Wonderwall without even realizing he’s done it.

“ _Today is gonna be the day that they’re gonna throw it back to you_.”

Jamie starts at the sound, flubbing the next chord progression and wincing at the garbled junk he makes. Face flushing, he quickly tries to recover, but he’s lost all concentration and misses the next chord too, so he sighs in defeat and claps his hand over the strings to stop.

Tyler’s eyes are wide. “Shit, sorry,” he bursts out. “Did I throw you off?”

Jamie fumbles for words. “No, it’s just – I wasn’t expecting it.” He throws Tyler a look. “I didn’t know you could sing.”

Tyler rolls his eyes. “I sing all the time in the dressing room, you know that. You’d have to have pretty terrible hearing if you didn’t.”

Jamie shakes his head. “No, I mean – you can actually sing. Not that obnoxious off-key locker room crap.”

This time, it’s Tyler’s turn to look embarrassed. A light pink tinge appears in his cheeks, and he averts his eyes. “It’s not a big deal,” he mutters. “It’s just nice to sing along sometimes. I didn’t mean to distract you. I’ll shut up now, promise.”

“You can keep singing,” Jamie says instantly, the words coming out rushed when he sees the look on Tyler’s face. “I just wasn’t expecting it. It’s fine. Let me just –” He checks his fingering and experimentally plays a few chords, and when he’s satisfied with his transitions, he starts the song over.

This time, when Tyler starts singing the verse, he doesn’t fumble.

_I don’t believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now._

He doesn’t screw up when Tyler’s voice cracks because the higher notes are slightly out of his range.

_And all the roads we have to walk are winding, and all the lights that lead us there are blinding._

When he does accidentally miss a chord, Tyler shuts up until Jamie finds his place again, and then he resumes without missing a beat.

_There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I don’t know how._

He’s pleasantly surprised at how much he remembers, but once he gets going his fingers move on instinct, and it’s easy and nice, even more so with Tyler singing softly along across from him.

_And after all, you’re my wonderwall._

He finishes the song and sinks back into the couch for a moment. Something akin to relief washes over him, but it’s a warm, comfortable feeling, and not at all embarrassing like he thought it would be.

Tyler’s grinning up at Jamie. “Dude, that was awesome!” he says. “You should play some more. Do you know any Theory of a Deadman songs?”

“Um, no,” Jamie says dumbly. Now he’s definitely embarrassed. “I don’t know a lot of songs, I just –”

“Okay, well, if I give you some names can you learn them?” Tyler’s on his hands and knees now, inching closer to the couch and looking up at Jamie with his stupid, eager puppy-dog eyes.

Jamie’s cheeks grow hot. He wishes it were that simple, but he doesn’t play nearly enough to have the confidence to try learning new songs whenever, much less learn to play them well. “I mean, I can try, but –”

“Awesome! This is so cool. We can have, like, jam sessions and stuff.”

Jamie opens his mouth to say something and then closes it. Seeing how genuinely excited Tyler looks somehow makes him think that maybe this isn’t such a bad idea after all.

**Author's Note:**

> (Anyway, here's Wonderwall.) 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this!
> 
> fic blog: nuanta-fic.tumblr.com


End file.
